What makes a drop tine buck? The drop tine buck has become the most sought after of all trophy whitetail bucks. Several factors cause these antlers and mis-placed tines on the racks of deer. While many things affect the growth of normal shaped antlers, i.e. nutrition, disease, injuries, age, genetics, hormones or parasites just to name a few, the drop tine antler doesn't show up in normal circumstances until a buck reaches about 3 years old and most usually 5 years old. Nutrition is always a factor for maximum horn growth. Once his body is mature, the nutrition a buck receives is allowed to benefit his horn growth making it possible to realize the genetics he has. Poor nuitrition affects a bucks horn growth not allowing for optimum genetic horn formulation. While the drop tine actually is penalized in the Boone and Crockett scoring system for typical antlers, most hunters do not consider the penalty of deductions when making a decision to harvest a drop tine whitetail buck - it's a no brainer!